My plan was to cut down the short hood directly above the headlight, cut the headlight out so it can be turned from horizontal to vertical, then add enough short hood from an extra shell (with doors sanded off) to get the right height. That extra height would make a good spot for a decoder.

The high short hood was for accomodating both a steam generator and dynamics. PRR & WM were the only original purchasers.

Just started one, take the existing short hood, cut off just above the start of the curve. Take another shell, cut .180" slice with the top and splice on top of the first shell... should wind up with a height of .685" or so. Estimating by its covering the center cab windows.

No photos since I am mortified at the sloppy (by my standards) splice I'll need to use filler on. OK, that's the easy part. For the LV #212 (exPRR) remove the door on the front of the short hood. Next: (evil grin here) Note: the hammerhead's headlights are VERTICAL. This will be fun fixing. Also: the firemans side (remember the long hood is front) has extra walkway boxes. The three doors in front of the cab above the walkway box need to be shortened. The battery boxes on either side of the short hood are OK, but the railings have two posts and a different shape. A double post is also on the aforementioned extra boxes. The handrail issue is almost enough for me to wait for the new RS11s as the shape is close.

The short hood also has a extra vertical row of louvers between the doors and the end of the short hood. (Cut doors and splice in flush for this). It also has a safety grille over the radiator shutters (I have some ideas, but it won't be easy)

This brings up a point that Atlas has ignored the different phases of RS3s. What is available is an early phI, later units had the extra walk boxes and different railings, PhII units has carbody filters instead of louvers on the doors (I just shaved all the louvers off one side of another shell for CNJ phII <lots of grins>) Need to cut recesses and insert the filter texture (not for the hammerhead). Plus there is a phIII version also.

The cabs are of at least three variations: when the Atlas RS3 first came out (1980s), it had 2 windows centered each side, which is correct for some dual control engines (early CNJ for example). This was replaced by the current Atlas 2/3 window config. There is also a 2/2 where the three window layout has the left window blanked off. (Again the hammerhead has the current 2/3 cab).

If you want a just good enuf, raise the top of the hood and put on the steam loco style # boards (from JnJ, if you can get them). This is the 80% that takes the 20% effort. To do it right takes the 80% extra effort for the last 20% to make it 100%.

Bob in IDaho (OK, here's a shot, may pop it off and put a _slight_ tilt down to the nose, measures ok but looks tilted to me)

L. A. Marre states that only two left Schenectady like that, WM #192 and the PRR unit. This makes me wonder: did L.A. Marre make an erroneous statement? is it a tpyographical error? if neither, did the WM modify the last three in its shops?

The WM units do not appear to be dissimilar to the PRR/LV unit. I had a bash started similar to the one described/illustrated above, but moving day was looming and it got packed away.

I have since become more interested in my non-historic railroad and steam, so the project has stayed packed away. At some point, I will be interested in my prototypes, again, so it will resurface.

One of the detail part manufacturers sold a hammerhead attatchment for HO RS-3s. I do not ever recall seeing one for N.

Three of the WM's hammerheads help to illustrate phase overlap. The WM received #192-#194, late phase RS-3s in May, 1953. The P&LE received five early phase RS-3s in October, 1953.

As previously indicated, the distinguishing features of late and early phase RS-3s are the lack of louvers on the later phases and the paper carobdy filters on the later phases.

#197, the last WM hammerhead/passenger unit, arrived September, 1954. All of them came in fireball, but were repainted to speed at some point. None of them survived to the period of the "bad ol' puddy 'tat".

If you take the upper nose off again, it will be easier to move the headlight. Cuts to the left and right, and a scored line underneath and it should snap out, turn 90 degrees, and glue back in. Unless you were planning on using a new Detail Associates (or is it Sunrise?) one. Another easy step towards that 80% is to replace the RS3 fuel tank with a RSD12 one.

Love the look of that coaling tower, I have many memories of watching LVRR locos trundle past the remains of it as I child.

Back to the hammerhead...

So the profile of that high hood is just a heightened regular front hood from a RS-3? That does indeed seem to make doing one much easier as I thought I'd need to build an entire front hood from scratch. Those photos twohands offered would do much to making a good high hood.

As far as fuel tank, wouldn't a RSD12 tank be too short? Since the difference between RS and RSD is 2 vs. 3 axle trucks? Or were the locos longer to accommodate the long trucks?

Where is the "everything you ever needed to know about Alco locomotives for dummies" book when I need it ;)

RS3, RS11, RSD12 tanks are all the same size. The RSD12 tank is an easy upgrade, but if you want that funky PRR style tank, start with the RS11 tank, build out the top, cut away the bottom to put the air tank there. Will need some surgery on the frame to grind away some of the front lump for clearance.